JUDGES’ REPORT & RESULTS

SECTION  ‘B’      MEMOIR

There were 85 entries submitted to the Memoir section. Thank you to all those who entered our 2009 competition. It is the variety and richness of so many entries that helps make the event such a success each year. Almost all memoirs received were written in traditional style, while a few varied from the norm to such an extent they would have to be considered as experimental writing. All memoirs were considered in the judging process.

Not all entries fitted the memoir category of writing. A memoir should be written about an incident, or a number of related incidents as remembered by the author, and presented thematically to give a point to the writing. A memoir also needs to incorporate good story-telling techniques; a meaningful title, attention-grabbing opening, deep characterisation employing the ‘show/not tell’ principle, directional plot construction, and a satisfying conclusion. In addition, all the basic writing skills of spelling, punctuation and grammar need to be employed. Although some entries could have benefitted from a good edit before submission, by far the majority of memoirs received were perfectly presented.

The winning entry cleverly used allegory to link a personal change in the author’s life to an historical event producing the same change in environmental conditions. The second placegetter, through clever use of language, brought the memory to life, allowing the reader to see, hear, smell, taste and feel it all.

The first and second readings produced 15 highly competitive entries. Further readings and discussions narrowed this down to the eight best memoirs. These were awarded 1^st and 2^nd prizes, three Highly Commended, and three Commended certificates. It was also decided to award Worthy of Mention certificates to two additional stories.

It was a privilege to be involved in the judging of the competition this year because of the high standard of entries. Congratulations to the winners and to all who participated in the Category B Memoir Super Short Story competition for 2009.